Process and apparatus relating to the combustion of solid fuel



April 13 1926.

M. DE CONINCK PROCESS AND APPARATUS RELATING TO THE COMBUSTION 0F SOLIDFUEL Filed Jan. 24, 1924 K J v U. ////M P fi nw Patented Apr. 13, 1926.

UNITED STATES 1,580,656 PATENT, OFFICE.

mancnr. DE common, or CANNES, amen.

PROCESS AND APPARATUS RELATING TO THE COMBUSTION OF SOLID FUEL.

Application filed January 24, 1924. Serial No. 688,245.

To all whom it may concern;

Be it known that MAnoEn on Columns, a citizen of the Republic of France,residing at Chalet Criquette Chemin de Vallauris, Cannes, AlpesMaritimes, France, has invented certain new and useful Improvements inProcesses and Apparatus Relating to the Combustion of Solid fuel, ofwhich the following is a specification.

The usual method of producing heat by burning solid fuel upon a gratehas several defects. For one thing, the grate 1s relatively large as theweight of fuel burned per square metre of grid surface is not very highunless recourse be had to means such as forced draught and mechanicalstoking for accelerating combustion and burning the fuel more quicklythan is possible with hand stoking.

These special arrangements are very costly and only justify themselvesin large plants. On the other hand their efliciency varies greatlyaccording to the nature of the fuel and its state of division, etc. Theheat given out by the fuel may not effectively be utilized if the fuelis of a bad quality on account of the low temperatures obtained.

This invention relates to a process and apparatus which allow thecalorific power of solid fuels to be completely and COHVQII: ientlyutilized. a

According to this invention fuel is subjected to a preparation havingfor effect to transform it into a' semifiuid or pasty compound,continuously fed in the form of a rod of suitable shape into the placewhere it is to be burned, that is, where it comes in contact with theair for combustion. The fuel as it approaches the combustion zone isdried and then, on coming nearer to the zone of maximum temperature,distills; the gases evolved by distillation burn at the surface. of therod which gradually cokes; the rod becomes coked and is burnt while thecinder is removed, for example, by melting and flowing away. Thecombustion thus attained is systematic, i. e. the fuel travels in theopposite direction to the flow of gases promoting combustion, while inorder to obtain the consecutive effects of drying the fuel, distillingthe volatile matters, burning the coked material and melting the cinder.One of the advantages of this process, and not the least, consists inobtaining hot gases free from dust.

The fuel may be brought into a semifluid even water, together, ifdesired, with suitable components with a view to obtaining certainqualities (such as a nonfreezing mixture or a cinder having a convenientfusibility or special chemical properties).

A mixture will thus be obtained whose fluidity is comparable, forexample, with that of artists colors in tubes, and thus capable of beingforced through an orifice by pressure.

The invention relates further to apparatus suitable for carrying out thesaid process in a very advantageous manner from the point of view ofbulk, simplicity of installation, easy operation and maintenance. Thecalorific power of low grade fuels is readily utilized, while theremoval of cinder is easily effected.

The apparatus comprises a duct terminating in a nozzle capable ofresisting a high temperature, through which the rod of fuel is forced,means for feeding the semi-fluid. or pasty fuel into this duct, and forprogressively ejecting it from the end of the nozzle,

of chamber d. The semifluid fuel is forced by pressure into chamber 01through an in let e, for example, either by placing tank a in connectionwith a source of pressure greater than that prevailing in chamber 03, orby making the tank a air tight by a valve 7 and introducing thereinfluid under pressure through a pipe g. The fuel asses into chamber (1 inthe formof a plastlc cylinder moving at a speed which may be varied byadjustmg a valve 71. or by varying the pressure prevailing in tank a.

Opposite the fuel inlet e is'a tube 5 for the inlet of the gas forpromoting combustion, such as air, which is blown into chamber 0? by afan or compressor, for example, not shown in the drawings. Fuel frominlet 6 burns in the presence of the airblast entering through tube 71.To start the burning v of the fuel, gas or a vaporized fuel may beinjected through a pipe. j and ignited by an electric sparking plug is.The flame thus produced is directed onto the rod Z of fuel. Rod l isguided by a nozzle m preferably made of refractory material inside whichthe volatile matters contained in the fuel commence to distillate underthe action of the heat prevailing in this portion of chamberd. The fuelthen moves forward inv the form of a column of coke which burns in thecurrent of air blown in through pi e i. Nozzle m may be provided withlon itu inal grooves n which facilitate the disc arge of the volatileproducts which also burn round rod Z. The temperature of combustion onthe surface and at the apex of rod Z may without inconvenience be veryhigh, since there is no grate liable to destruction by over-heating. Thefuel itself forms its own support.

Fuel may be burnt with still greater rapidi ty if the air be previouslyheated.

The air is, moreover, already heated in the apparatus as illustrated, byits passage through tube i which is surrounded by the hot gases ofcombustion. The intensity of combustion which is already greater thanthat obtained on grates, owing to the high temperatures attained and tothe speed of the current of air, may again considerably be increased ifchamber (1 is under pressure,

' that is, if the burning power per unit'of volume of air introducedthrough tube 71 attains several times the value that it possesses underusual conditions of burning at atmospheric pressure.

The high temperatures to which rod Z is heated have for effect to meltthe cinder which then flows away in a liquid state and will collect inan annular vessel 0 surrounding nozzle m. If solid particles becomedetached from the burning rod Z, they will float on the surface of theliquid cinder and burn. The bottom of vessel 0 may be cooled by a waterjacket 72 whereby a lining'of solidified material willbe formed whichwill completely protect the metal of which the vessel is made.

The cinder in a molten state flows out through a spout q and fallsthrough an opening r formed in the lower portion of the combustionchamber into a vessel 8 containing water in which the molten cinder issubmerged while becoming pulverulent under the boillng action producedwhen the fused material comes into contact with the water. The heat ofthe steam evolved is not lost as t mixes with the current of hot gasespassmg out of the combustion chamber,

For the sake of clearness, vessels is shown to a smaller scale than thatof chamber (1.

Vessel s is provided at its lower portion with a purge orifice providedwith a valve 19 allowing the cinder to pass outwards by gravity or bythe action of the pressure prevailing in chamber 0? if under pressure. Awater inlet a compensates for losses due to evaporation and to removalwith the cinder. In place of passing the molten cinder into water, thecinder may remain glowing and be removed by any known means. This isparticularly the case when the cinder is to be used as a supply of amaterial comparable to molten cement. For this object suitablecomponents may be added while mixing the fuel with the binding liquid inorder to give the cinder the proper chemical properties.

The apparatus illustrating the invention may be modified without in anyway changing the nature of the invention. In particular, the system forsupplying the combustion chamber with semi-fluid fuel may vary accordingto the conditions of working. For example, if the pressure in thechamber is sufiiciently high, as may be the case with an internalcombustion turbine, it would not be economical to make a large reservoirsuch as a sufficiently strong to resist high pressures. It may beadvantageous in this case to feed the chamber with fuel by means ofsmall cylinders operating as pump bodies with a slow to and fro movementand in which the semi fluid mixture is displaced by a piston actuatedmechanically by a screw, rack or other means, or by the pressure of afluid. The speed of advance of the fuel may also be regulated bynumerous known means.

As illustrated the combination chamber contains a single rod of fuel butit is evident that there may be a plurality of said rods withoutchanging the principle of the invention. The combustion chamber may havea vertical or inclined axis with a view to its adaptation for forming aboiler furnace in which advantage is taken of the direct radiation ofthe incandescent fuel.

What I claim is 1. A process of utilizing solid fuels which consists inreducing said fuel to a pulverulent state, mixing-it with a liquid toform a semi-fluid paste, progressively feeding said paste into afurnace, raising the paste to ignition temperature and causing anopposing current of a combustion promoter to impinge against the apex ofsaid fuel body durin the combustion thereof.

2. 5 process of utilizing solid fuels which consists in reducing saidfuel to a pulverulent state, mixing it in the form of a semifiuid pastewith liquid and solid components in order to obtain a mixture possessingdefimte physical and chemical qualities, progressively feedmg'said pasteinto a furnace,

P state of a semi-fluid mixture, comprising and causing an opposingcurrent of a com-- bustion promoter to impinge against the apex of saidfuel body during the combustion thereof.

3. An apparatus for burning fuel in the state of a semi-fluid mixture,comprising means for feeding said mixture into a furnace, a nozzleleading the mixture into the furnace in the form of a projecting rod,means for setting on fire said combustible rod, an inlet duct for thecombustion pro.- moter causing the later to impinge against the apex ofsaid burning rod, and means for removing the cinder.

4. An apparatus for burning fuel in state of a semi-fluid mixture,comprising means for feeding said mixture into a furnace, a nozzleleading the mixture into said. furnace in the form of a projecting rod,

means for setting on fire said combustiblerod, an inlet duct for thecombustion promoter surrounded by the hot gases ofcom bustion, means forcausing a current of preheated combustion promoter to impinge againstthe apex of the burning rod, and a vessel for collecting the moltencinder flowing from the burning rod.

5. An apparatus for burning fuel in the means for feeding said mixtureinto a furnace, a nozzle leading the mixture into said furnace in theform of a projecting rod, means for setting on fire said combustiblerod, an inlet duct for the combustion promoter surrounded by the hotgases of combustion, means for causing a current of preheated combustionpromoter to impinge against the apex of the burning rod, a vesselraising the paste to ignition temperature collectin the molten cinderflowing from the burning rod, and means for cooling the molten cinderdischarged from said collecting vessel.

6. In an apparatus for burning fuel in the state of a semi-fluidmixture, the combination with a fuel combustion chamber of a fuelresidue collecting vessel at the bot-tom of the chamber, an upwardlydirected fuel inlet pipe passing through the bottom of said vessel,means for allowing the fuel re sidue to outflow from said vessel, andmeans a n W for leading a combustion promoter such as air into saidchamber.

7. In an apparatus for burning fuel in the state of asemi-fluid mixture,the combination with a combustion chamber, of a fuel residue collectingvessel at the bottom of the chamber, an upwardly directed fuel inletpipe passing through the bottom of said vessel, means for allowing thefuel residue to outflow from said vessel, means for cooling said vessel,and means for leading a combustion promoter such as air into saidchamber.

8. In an apparatus for burning fuel in the state of a semi-fluidmixture, the combination with a combustion chamber, of means for feedingfuel in a semi fluid paste condition through a pipe leading into thesaid chamber, a nozzle on said pipe located within the combustionchamber, an outlet from the bottom of said chamber for molten cinder,and means for leading a combustion promoter such as air into saidchamber.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I have signed myname this seventh .day of January, 1924.

' MARCEL on CONINOK.

